Hancock: surprisingly good

I have a small wad of Hoyts' Hot Cash coupons in my wallet (no moths!) which expire in July, so I used one today to see the unlikely superhero movie, "Hancock".

I'd seen some great trailers, which seemed to indicate a Will Smith comedy, and then some fairly positive reviews on "The Movie Show", which suggested a movie with something more to offer. Hancock is a tramp-like, perpetually drunk, super-powered human living in Los Angeles, who has no regard for the damage he causes when rescuing victims of crime and natural disaster. When the amnesiac Hancock saves the life of a public relations exec, Ray (Jason Bateman), who was trapped in the path of a train, Ray promises Hancock he can turn the tide of the way the public perceive his life. Ray's wife, Mary (Charlize Theron), believes Hancock cannot be transformed into a legitimate superhero, and yet there seems to be an odd connection between Hancock and Mary.

I really don't want to say any more, because the movie has several unexpected twists that really took me by surprise. One was almost spoiled by one of the TV commercials, but I found I quite forgot about that while watching the movie. So there are plenty of surprises. There's nothing particularly new about this movie, but the elements are put together very well, and the cast is extremely appealing. I haven't noticed Jason Bateman in anything since TV's "Valerie"/"The Hogan Family", although I note he was in a few things I've seen, such as "Dodgeball", and a DVD I own but haven't watched yet, "Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium".

If you're wondering about whether to bother with "Hancock", and you're still waiting for the next big superhero movie on the horizon, "The Dark Knight", I say, "Go for it."

Sunday's not so magic number: 95.5 - Oh dear. Oh well.